Meant to Be
by spellwrite
Summary: Aragorn has been tracking Gollum for many years and he can not help but think about Arwen. He knows he needs to be strong for her but will his strength flounder? A short ONE-SHOT.


**Meant to Be**

**Disclaimer - The only thing that is mine is the mindless drabble. Everything that you recognise it the property of Tolkien and those that have actually purchased any rights - If I had, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction...I'd be living it!! :D**

**AN:// Just a very short little one-shot that i felt the need to write at three in the morning when I couldn't sleep. Aragorn's thoughts on Arwen while he is tracking Gollum. **

I am so close and yet so far away at the same time. I have been searching for many years and every time I think I am close it is snatched away from me yet again.

I have come so far, travelled in so many circles, that I know not where I belong. There was a time when I was one among the Elves, a time when, although different, I felt accepted. I am a Ranger now, a man of the west, and that 'home' was lost to me an age ago. I no longer have a home for I travel in the wilderness, living off the land...alone.

Yet still I dream. I know that it will not come true but it does not prevent me from imagining – 'what if'? I have been betrothed for almost twenty-eight years. I want to prove myself but I know I will never be good enough for my beloved. The Evenstar does not wax or wane but it does not change my own mortality. It is this weakness that I fear will separate us for eternity – yet still I dream.

When I left the home of the Elves I was told I was to become a king. I am heir to the throne of Gondor – a man in which all people will someday pin their own hopes and dreams upon, until I crumble under the pressure and responsibility. Then they will feel only disappointment towards me and I will be cast out. 'King' is a title that I do not want and that I fear I can not fulfil. A dark shadow is spreading across Middle-Earth, one that I must defeat to become something that I do not wish to be. Yet I believe that taking the throne of the White City is my only chance at securing a position worthy of the one I love, finally able to offer her stability. It is that which I look to. It is my only option.

Even now, as the sun rises on another day and the wood that I am near seems to come alive before me, a new lease of light shining through its canopy, I am surrounded by the darkness. Those of my bloodline, from whom I am descended, were weak. It is the same weakness, I fear, that flows through my veins. My Love once told me that I was stronger than those who had gone before. I desire to believe her for I know that she would not lie to me, yet I feel that it is only from her own hope that she believes in me. I know that she wishes me to claim the throne of men, with her as my queen. I know this because it is what I also long for – the day when we can bind together – one for all eternity.

I am prevented from doing this. My path has become indistinguishable amidst the chaos of life. I am currently tracking a foul, loathsome creature, one which I see no importance in. I follow directions blindly, trusting that there is a reason behind it. It leaves me to question whether that is a good quality in a supposed leader, to blindly walk into the unknown – into danger. I am even more convinced that they have chosen the wrong man to perform such an enormous task. How can they expect me to unite all the peoples of Middle-Earth under one banner? I am too weak to carry this heavy burden. I fear it will consume me.

I know that in the coming years I will face a great task, one that I may not return from. If I die in battle then I would be spared the pain of watching the land and its people burn. It would be unjust! Why should I be spared suffering in spite of the pain of all others? At least if I live to see failure I will face it as others will be forced to.

There is but a slim chance that I will eventually become King and take Arwen as My Queen. Even though this is the case, I have recently become increasingly aware that it is all that I think about. Everything I do, even the chasing of this creature, I wonder how it may lead me to achieve the life I have always prayed for.

I go about gathering up my supplies and destroying my camp, leaving no trace of myself behind. I must find this un-earthly being, Gollum, and continue on my journey – for I know that it will be difficult. There will be many obstacles in my path; there will be times when it will seem hopeless. I will look to everything I do with Arwen's face in my mind's eye, giving me strength. I must always hope that, if and when we succeed, we will be together – the way it is meant to be.

**AN:// Review! Go on, you know you want to press the button!**


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